Special-education help for Maryland families.

The Maryland Infants and Toddlers Program (MITP), run by the Maryland State Department of Education's Division of Early Intervention and Special Education Services, gives free developmental evaluation and services — speech, occupational, physical, and developmental therapy — to any child birth to 3 with a delay or qualifying condition, delivered in your home or community. There is no income test and no diagnosis required. This is the single best first call for a baby or toddler. Maryland recently expanded eligibility, so apply even if you're unsure your child qualifies.

Each of Maryland's 24 counties (and Baltimore City) runs its own local Infants and Toddlers Program coordinating education, health, and private providers. Use the MITP directory to find the one serving your jurisdiction, or call 2-1-1. They come to you — no waitlist to be evaluated.

The Parents' Place of Maryland is the state's only federally designated Parent Training and Information Center, serving families of children with disabilities from birth through age 26 since 1991. It gives free, one-to-one help understanding your rights, the evaluation, and the IEP process — plus workshops and an annual conference in English and Spanish. Call before you pay any private advocate.

Pathfinders for Autism, a Maryland nonprofit, offers a free resource line, a searchable provider database, and plain-language guides to school issues, IEP development, and statewide services — a fast way to find what's near you.

Disability Rights Maryland (formerly the Maryland Disability Law Center) is the state's federally mandated protection & advocacy agency. It provides free legal information and advocacy for Marylanders of any age with any disability when a child's special-education rights are being denied — including help with disputes, restraint/seclusion, and school discipline. A powerful no-cost resource before you hire a lawyer.

The Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS) provides free help for students with disabilities (Pre-Employment Transition Services, Pre-ETS, for ages 14–21) to prepare for work, college, and independent living — career counseling, job exploration, work-based learning, training, and assistive technology. There is no cost for student services or to apply. Ask your DORS counselor to join your child's transition IEP meetings.

Maryland's Home and Community-Based 1915(c) Medicaid waivers — the Autism Waiver (ages 1 to 21 for children with an ASD diagnosis and an IEP/IFSP) and the Community Pathways Waiver for developmental disabilities, among others — can pay for therapies, respite, and services for a child with significant disabilities. Several of these waivers count only the child's income, not the parents', so families above normal Medicaid limits can still qualify. The interest/waiting lists run for years (thousands of children are waiting), so the single most important move is to get your child onto every list TODAY. Call the Maryland Department of Health or your local Coordinator of Community Services to add your child's name.

Maryland does not offer a Katie Beckett/TEFRA Medicaid pathway. Instead, the 1915(c) waivers above (especially the Autism Waiver) are how a child with significant needs can get Medicaid based on the child's own income rather than the family's. Because the lists are so long, applying early is everything — and children already on Medicaid/CHIP can access medically necessary speech, OT, and ABA right away through EPSDT while they wait.

You can ask your school system in writing for a special-education evaluation at any time. Under Maryland regulation (COMAR), the IEP team must complete the initial evaluation and eligibility meeting within 60 days of your written parental consent for assessments — and within 90 days of the school receiving your written referral. If the team finds your child eligible, it must develop the IEP within 30 days of that eligibility meeting. Put the request in writing and date it — the clock starts then. You have the right to everything in your language, to bring anyone to the meeting, and to disagree.

Under IDEA you have the right to a free, appropriate public education (FAPE), to a full evaluation at no cost, to be an equal member of the IEP team, to an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) if you disagree, and to dispute-resolution (mediation, state complaint, or a due-process hearing). Your PTI above explains all of it for free.

The Maryland State Department of Education's Division of Early Intervention and Special Education Services sets the rules every school system must follow, runs the state complaint and due-process systems, and publishes guidance on evaluations, the IEP process, and dyslexia/structured-literacy supports. Start here to know what the state requires of your school.

Use the ZIP finder to pull the nearest evaluators, therapists, and special-education schools to your address, plus your area's full directory — and these statewide free programs are always shown, no matter how rural your town.

Several reputable practices provide autism/ADHD evaluation and speech/OT/ABA by telehealth across Maryland — vital for Eastern Shore and Western Maryland families. Nationally, COPAA (advocates/attorneys), the Academy of Orton-Gillingham (dyslexia), ABPP (board-certified evaluators), BHCOE (ABA), and Bookshare (free accessible books) round out your options.